This is Helen Bond Carruthers. While not easy to make out the details, she is indeed wearing one of her famous cashmere sweaters appliqued with embroidered pieces of antique textiles. Helen got her start modifying and embellishing plain colored cashmere button front sweaters in the 1950s. After acquiring a warehouse full of antique shawls, she began cutting them up and hand sewing them onto sweaters. She worked from home in Versailles, Kentucky...eventually employing some help to fulfill orders. There are several signature details present in a true Helen Bond Carruthers sweater. First off- they will always be cashmere, and...

Helen Bond Carruthers pretty much speaks for itself, no? Sold in 2006. One of two I had at the time, the other in yellow. Absolutely exquisitely made! Helen Bond Carruthers (1894-1970) was a maker of high quality decorated cashmere sweaters. According to family history, the sweater business most likely was born after Carruthers bought a warehouse full of old shawls, and the sweaters were conceived as a way to use them. At first, Ms. Carruthers decorated the sweaters herself, using purchased sweaters and carefully cut-out pieces of embroidery from the shawls. The success of her venture led her to...